From exploring fake news to tackling #MeToo, why The Good Fight is the one drama we all need to watch in 2019

With storylines that could have come straight from the headlines, The Good Fight is known for taking on the topics that the whole country is talking about.

From political controversy and police brutality to racial profiling and sexual harassment, this CBS All Access courtroom drama isn't afraid to shed light on the most controversial subjects in today's ever-changing news cycle.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Good Fight dealt with the world descending into madness following the Trump election, and now the upcoming Season 3 will see Diane Lockhart and her colleagues navigate a resistance movement gone crazy.

Chicago lawyer Diane Lockhart, played by Christine Baranski, navigates a resistance movement gone crazy in Season 3 of The Good Fight

So as we prepare for the premiere of the new season, we'll take a look at how The Good Fight has become the most relevant drama for these chaotic and confusing times, and why it will be more gripping than ever in 2019.

The Trump Era

Season 1 of The Good Fight began just as Trump became president in 2016, dealing with the shock and confusion of the surprise election. Then Season 2 ran side by side with his presidency, with each episode named after the number of days he was in office.

And now Season 3 is examining the looming spectre of a possible future with a re-elected Trump. When partner Adrian Boseman from the Chicago-based law firm insists that it is time to look to the future, fellow partner Liz Reddick-Lawrence responds: 'A future where Trump wins in 2020?'

When The Good Fight returns to CBS All Access on March 14, Maia Rindell, played by Rose Leslie, will have to contend with amoral new lawyer Roland Blum, played by Michael Sheen

From immigration and police brutality to alt-right hate speech and even a potential impeachment, the Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart firm has set out to fight the cases that matter in this political climate.

And as Season 3 progresses we can expect to see the firm take on ever-more challenging cases. 'I'm ready to fight,' says Diane. 'The resistance starts now.'

But will she be able to resist a crazy administration without going crazy herself?

Exploring fake news

'A brave new world,' says investigator Jay in Season 2, after an FBI agent tries to manipulate lawyer Maia using a fake phone recording. 'Mistrust everything.'

This is a central theme of The Good Fight. In a world where fake news is affecting everyone's work and personal lives, it has become hard to trust what is real.

Maia has faced the struggle to distinguish between truth and lies over the past two seasons of The Good Fight, and in Season 3 these lines will blur further still

In Season 1, we watched Maia's ex-boyfriend try to ruin her life by spreading untrue stories that were picked up as fact by the media.

And the lines between truth, distortion and lies will blur further still in Season 3, as the firm struggles to function in a post-factual world where the lawyer who tells the best story triumphs over the lawyer with the best facts.

'As lawyers we are not finders of fact,' sneers Roland Blum, the corrupt new lawyer at the firm. 'There's beauty in a well-told lie.'

Tackling #MeToo

We've seen the firm grapple with questions of consent and sexual harassment in the first two seasons of The Good Fight, which had chilling echos of stories in the news at the time.

They take on the thorny case of a reality star who claims she was sexually assaulted while filming a television show. 'I didn't say no', she states. 'But at some point I lost the ability to say no.'

In Season 3, new lawyer Roland Blum will shake things up at Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart

Then when the firm defends a network that is running a story accusing a beloved actor of sexual assault, his lawyer responds by stating that #MeToo is being used for political gain.

At a time when the #MeToo movement both merges and clashes with politics, The Good Fight's storylines seem more relevant than ever.

The question of race

'Diversity is in right now,' Adrian Boseman mockingly says to fellow partner Liz Reddick-Lawrence in the upcoming season, after a client informs him that being African-American is their 'brand.'

The law firm is majority African-American and frequently deals with cases involving police brutality, racial profiling, and immigration and deportation.

In the upcoming season, the firm's partners Adrian Boseman, played by Delroy Lindo, and Liz Reddick-Lawrence, played by Audra McDonald, discuss whether their future will involve Trump in 2020

But in Season 3 when the new associates arrive, lawyer Lucca notes that it's an 'unusual makeup' with more 'whites than blacks.'

'Things don't happen at this firm without a reason,' she adds, making us question what could be behind the new racial makeup of the firm.

The clash of politics

At a time when the country is more politically divided than ever, The Good Fight shines a light on these clashes of ideology.

The question 'Did you vote for Trump?' is constantly raised implicitly and explicitly. Lawyer Julius fears he'll be ostracized for admitting he voted for Donald Trump, while staunch Democrat Diane asks her gun-owning Republican husband where his vote went before considering a reunion.

In Season 3, staunch Democrat Diane Lockhart looks set to reunite with her estranged husband Kurt McVeigh, played by Gary Cole, who is a gun-owning Republican

And the shadow of populism is ever-present. At the end of Season 2, the firm is still contending with the threat of a movement to 'kill all lawyers', and news anchors ask: 'Can over-billing get you killed?'

The firm also works on cases involving the alt-right, with Facebook-like site Chummy Friends descending into 'the Wild West of racism and sexism.'

The final scene of the second season shows Donald Trump describing these times as the 'calm before the storm', so we can only expect even more fraught and politically charged storylines as Season 3 unfolds.

Season 3 of The Good Fight premieres Thursday March 14, exclusively on CBS All Access.

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